_edited_edit.jpg)
Today I am going to show you how to automate your Samsung SmartThings indoor home surveillance camera. I'll show you how to setup your SmartThings camera so that you receive recorded video notifications in response to activity in your home while you’re away. The automation will enable your camera after the last person leaves your home’s geofence. An additional automation will stop camera surveillance upon the arrival of any individual family member.
Shop my Amazon Store for compatible Smart Home Devices:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/budssmarthome
Smart Devices Used in this video:
Required Devices
This automation requires that you have home internet. Also, you must have SmartThings version 2 or 3 hub connected to your home’s router either via ethernet cable or WiFi. And you must have a SmartThings compatible camera and a SmartThings compatible plug. I am using the Samsung Smart Cam. As for a smart plug, I am using the Hibro ZigBee Smart Plug, but you may use any plug that uses the ZigBee or Z-Wave protocol.
I love the SmartThings Cam as it is equipped with fantastic hardware features, such as person detection without the requirement for a paid cloud subscription. The SmartThings Cam is a 1080p indoor security camera that offers full HD video with HDR, IR for night vision, two-way audio, person detection, and a 145-degree field of view. The camera uses two infrared LED arrays to provide up to 16 feet of black-and-white night video. It sends push alerts to each family member’s smart device when motion and sound is detected. It provides free 24-hour cloud storage backup for up to four cameras. Samsung gives you the option to purchase a subscription for a 30-day backup for up to eight cameras. The cost of the subscription plan is $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year. I find that the free 24 hour cloud storage is adequate for my needs.
Product, price and review information can be accessed via my Amazon store link which can be found in the description below this video. While in my Amazon Store, just click on the “Smart Home Products” category to find and extensive list of SmartThings compatible devices. Sales generated by using my Amazon links will provide me with a small commission. These commissions help support my efforts to bring you additional smart home automation content. Let’s get into the setup…
The Setup
If you don’t disable the SmartThings Cam while your home is occupied, the camera will record every sound and/or motion and it will optionally send notifications to every smart device. This is not ideal; particularly if your camera is in a room that is frequently occupied. However, by plugging the camera into as smart plug, you can control when the camera is actively monitoring. Let’s get into the proper camera setup by beginning with the appropriate settings for in your SmartThings Home Monitor. Once the Home Monitor settings are made, I’ll then show you how to setup the automation that will control the camera based your arrival or departure.
After you have paired the SmartThings Cam and your smart plug with your SmartThings hub, you’ll need to open your SmartThings App and configure your SmartThings Home Monitor. First, tap on the “SmartThings Home Monitor”. Next, tap on the gear icon in the upper left hand corner of your screen. Now tap on “Security” and then the phrase “Set up Armed (away) sensors”. Next tap on the phase “Use all motion sensors”. You should be careful here not to toggle the slider to the “on” position unless you intend to use all the installed motion sensors in your home. Once in the “Select Device” screen, choose “SmartThings Cam” from the list. After you have selected the “SmartThings Cam”, then tap “Done”. You should repeat the same steps under the “monitor sound” setting if you want to be notified of any sound detected by the camera. With those settings made, go back one screen to the Security screen and then tap on “Set Response”. In the “set response” screen tap on “Record Video” and then choose the “SmartThings Cam” from the list and tap done. Finally, scroll down to the bottom of the “Set Response” screen, to ensure that the “Push notification” and “Include captured image’ switches are enable. This will prompt notifications to your smart devices anytime motion or sound is detected and recorded.
With the SmartThings Home Monitor configured, let’s now write two simple scenes. These scenes will turn your camera switch on when everyone departs your home, and then back off when someone returns. To set this up I added the camera switch to the list of actions in my existing “Good Bye” and my “I’m Back” scenes. Please watch the provided video to discover how to setup these scenes and the automations used to trigger the scenes.